A small village was hidden within the deep forests and mountain areas of Rukongai, it was a peaceful village - built upon a river and the supposed leader of it was a woman. It might've seemed odd to travelers who just passed by, but it had been as it was. Though a lot of the village still had been in the process of being built, many of the houses were up and standing with livable conditions. They seemed to be sized according to the amount of people who lived within them – if it was someone who lived alone, it would be a one story house, fairly small but with enough room to properly accommodate the person living in it, whereas if it was a family of several people, it'd most often be a two story house that spanned out a little more. All of the houses had connected backyard that had been built to resemble parks the woman had seen in the human world during her travels.
The house that stood out like a sore eye was the leaders – it was a beautiful black wood house, it stood five stories tall, the roof reaching up into the sky as if trying to grace the people in the vicinity by its presence. The base of the house had been stone whereas the rest of it was black wood with silver ornaments that were intricately detailed. The roofs of the house were red, with gold accents at the corners while gold Kirin's sat on every corner of the roof, wrapped around every support beam of the house and a rather massive one wrapped around the roof, reaching off into the sky and at the same time – looking over the village.
The house represented her clan, the fact that she had been the last one remaining and the fact that it had been her job to watch over the people who lived alongside of her.
The village the woman had built mostly consisted of people who preferred peace and were willing to give up fighting and useless pestering whilst working and helping each other. Both men and women had come to accept the woman as their leader, though they seldom saw her lately due to the fact that she had been working on funding and receiving materials in complete discretion to outside world, they still appreciated what she had done for them and would continue to do.
The first villager, if the man dared to call himself that, had been an unnamed man, he had just died and was almost immediately attacked by a hollow upon his arrival. If it hadn't been for her, he would've been another soul gone. She gave him a name, offered him a purpose and settled him down fairly. The first months were slow as people were afraid that the woman was nothing but useless, but then she had saved a group of children from an arrancar which had attacked them. She suffered minor damage as the creature had been weak compared to others she had fought, however people respected her for risking her life for the sake of children and so they came.
She refused to train anyone, however she did send people to the Academy if she believed they were trustworthy and strong enough to enter. He often seemed mystified by the woman because her knowledge on Gotei 13 and Seireitei, hell, even Soul Society in general seemed to be so extensive, but she never talked about where she achieved this knowledge. Most had assumed that she was the last of a noble clan and trying to preserve it or remain alive, she had isolated herself from most of the world, but they couldn't complain. She treated these people fairly, offering them opportunities to work together and allowed them for equal opportunities in life. If this village were to become something more, it would be a well-structured empire.
The woman sat in front of a table, curiously looking at a book, exploring different ideas of medication and herb treatments. She had put her violent past behind after her exile, she had decided that there was no room within her new grounds to fight at any point unless it is required to save someone's life. She would no longer repeat her stupid mistakes, she had to learn, grow and move on or otherwise she'd be sulking over her exile forever.
She wasn't lonely by no means, between the villagers who enjoyed her company, she also received both letters and in-person visits from her old friends, Captains of certain squads. Something always kept her busy and moving and leaving her no time to ponder her fate or grow hatred towards anyone.
She hadn't been expecting visitors for a while now as she had heard that Shunsui had been scolded and given a warning for meeting with a traitor, which she always found quiet amusing. Aizen would visit her quite often, he would talk to her extensively and bring her gifts such as books, herbs and spices. They had bonded long before he had become a Captain. She remembered how young and pure the man looked back then, when he was Shinji's lieutenant. And whilst she always knew the man had different plans for Soul Society, who was she to judge his decisions. It wasn't her judgment to push forward, she would let others decide. She just had been a motherly figure there for him, when he required support even if she could only provide emotional reassurance on plans he never elaborated too much on.
She rose her eyes towards the doors, seeing Aizen, a gentle smile found its way upon her face as she looked at the man, "Come, sit, would you like tea?" She asked gently, slowly standing up and brushing out her white kimono which dragged across the floor behind her.
"Yes, please Kaiyu, your tea blends never cease to amaze me, I'd like something relaxing today." She heard him reply as she turned her back onto the man descending into the kitchen. He followed her, taking seat at the small breakfast table which sat there.
"How is Seireitei doing?" She asked whilst shuffling around, picking out different herbs from cupboards and crushing them with the mortar with a pestle.
The woman heard the man chuckle before he spoke up, "It's been doing quite well, for now, watch that Yamamoto doesn't request your return to Gotei 13 soon."
"I don't quite believe that it would happen and if it were to, I'd have to reject as there would be no one to watch over the village and finish my plans." She admitted confidently, before pouring the crushed herbs into a tea pot, pouring hot water over it. She let it steam before turning her attention back to the man.
"If it did come down to it, should I expect a Hell's Butterfly or a Messenger to arrive and ask for my hand?" She asked, laughing at her own joke to which Aizen joined her.
"Perhaps Shunsui will arrive to finally take that hand of yours, I heard he had been given a warning for visiting you."
"Yes, it appears so, we only correspond in letters currently, he's quite the poet, if I may say so." She chuckled once again before returning her attention back to the tea pot. Taking out two tea cups which she had gotten as a present from Jushiro, both were made of porcelain with a simple and modern design, yet she quite enjoyed them.
She moved towards the table, setting the tea cups down before pouring Aizen and herself a cup "Rosehip, peppermint, some vervain and I'd suggest adding honey, a spoonful." She said thoughtfully before sitting down and fixing her Kimono a little.
Both spent the rest of the evening chatting about small things, Aizen letting her in on some of his plans in regards of Soul Society and possibly bringing Kaiyu back to Gotei 13 upon achieving his plans. She just smiled at the man before he rephrased what he had said, "I'd like you to be responsible for architecture, you'd just have to draw out plans and designs and add your touch to create friendlier looking environment for both civilians and the Shinigami."
She mused over his idea, whilst it would be nice, it still would require her presence there and she hadn't been interested after being exiled for no good reason, "Get to the latter part of your plan first, dear, then I'll consider your proposal." She smiled softly at the man who returned the smile.
Kaiyu stood up slowly, taking hold of both of the tea cups, placing them in a large pot which held other dirty dishes before she took hold of the teapot, emptying the herbs out of it into a smaller clay pot where a single peppermint grew.
"I believe it would be wise for you to go now, Aizen, dear." She said softly, turning her gaze back towards the man.
"That is indeed true, it's quite late and it's quite a way to get back there, I'll be sure to stop by again, soon, take care and stay in good health." He was leaving, but Kaiyu didn't give him a chance yet.
She grabbed the man by his shoulder, turning him towards her as she wrapped her arms around him to hug him. "I apologize if I angered you with my statement, however you should know better than to leave without giving me a hug." She said quietly before letting the man go, seeing his features soften up she smiled once again, "Before you go, here, let me give you something to take with you, I had it made for you a little while back but never got around giving it to you." She said softly before wandering off into the living room and opening a cupboard, taking out a cream white wooden box, the lacquer making it shine at odd light angles whilst written on the box in black ink was for Aizen.
She handed the man the small box, smiling just as brightly as before, watching him slowly open it to reveal a silver chain to which a silver and black pendant hung, it was a Kirin wrapped around a black opal.
"Treat it well and don't lose it, now go on, don't raise more suspicion than you already have among your subordinates." The man stood there quietly for a moment before wrapping his arms tightly around the woman, holding her close.
"Thank you, it means a lot, Kaiyu." She smiled at the man, nodding with a small smile before watching him leave the house, she followed outside before seeing him disappear almost immediately, he flash-stepped away in a hurry.
She stood there, leaning against the door frame whilst greeting the villagers who were returning from farm land fields. It wasn't until she felt a strange reiatsu from nearby that she seemed alarmed. She furrowed her brows, heading inside whilst taking hold of her zanpakuto. It sat neatly in a black sheath whilst around the hilt a black ribbon hung from it, on the ribbon was sewn another Kirin, with both gold and red thread. She carefully held onto it before moving towards the reiatsu, looking around to realize she had arrived at the farm lands.
She surveyed the nearby fields, noticing that no one had been here, so the reiatsu seemed out of place at this point. Furrowing her brows once again, she slowly walked through the field, hoping that whatever it was, she could attract its attention, it wasn't until she felt the reiatsu again, but this time in an entirely familiar direction and it was much stronger than before.
She rushed back to the village only to see it in ruins. Bodies lying everywhere, no one had been spared, the buildings had been burnt to crisp, even hers. She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to find the culprit, but there was no one here.
Kaiyu searched the entire village, hoping to find at least one soul that was still there with her, but no, it was only her. She collapsed onto her knees, still holding onto her sheathed katana. She wasn't capable of crying, she hadn't been for so long, but she could feel the salty tears falling and spilling. So much work, so much passion and it was gone, she couldn't save it.
She curled up, wrapping her body around her zanpakuto, the tears wouldn't stop flowing, it was like an open waterfall. After some time of crying she drifted off to sleep, it had worn the woman out.